It’s a rare week when the U.S. government doesn’t release major data with the potential to move markets. There’s a veritable alphabet soup of economic reports issued each month, from GDP to CPI to PCE, and investors could conceivably benefit from a better understanding of how these data send markets up or down.

How quickly and dramatically can data move the stock market? Just take a look at the May non-farm payrolls report. The report’s so-called “headline” number reveals how many new non-farm jobs were created or lost in the U.S. during the previous month.

Going into June, Wall Street analysts had been looking for a gain of about 160,000 jobs in May, not a barn-buster, but decent growth. Instead, on June 3, the government delivered a shock, saying only 38,000 jobs were created the previous month, with disappointing growth in closely-watched sectors including construction and manufacturing. Stocks retreated that day, and the S&P 500 Index (SPX), which before the report had been moving higher, ended up falling 34 points by the middle of June from where it had been right before the report.

The data had ramifications beyond the immediate stock market impact. It also contributed to an immediate drop in expectations for a Federal Reserve June rate hike, which many Wall Street analysts had been expecting until they saw the jobs number. Indeed, the Fed declined to raise rates at its mid-June meeting, and in its statement after the meeting referred to the jobs data, using rather dreary language about improvement in the labor market slowing, inflation compensation declining, and business fixed investment being “soft.”

“Each major data point is like throwing a stone into a pond; there are tremendous ripple effects,” said JJ Kinahan, Chief Market Strategist at TD Ameritrade. “No report exists in a vacuum, and a good investor understands how data can inter-relate and affect the Fed’s decisions as well as corporate decision making down the road.”

The problem is keeping track of all this information, finding ways to make sense of the different numbers and how they might fit together. There’s a truckload of reports that can affect the markets, and not just from Washington. Key international bodies like the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, and the European Central Bank often release market-moving reports, as do major research universities, the various Federal Reserve banks around the country, and even companies like Baker Hughes (BHI), whose weekly U.S. oil rig count data has become a closely-followed report every Friday on Wall Street.

Then of course, there’s the constant flood of earnings reports from thousands of public companies that just never seems to stop. Investors, inundated by all these data, can’t be blamed if they sometimes feel it’s hard to rein it all in, compare one data point to others, or research historic data without conducting hours of complex research online.

Helping traders make sense of all this, and maybe even find ways to trade more effectively, is what spurred a new Economic Data tool just released on the thinkorswim® trading platform by TD Ameritrade. Traders and investors can now access 400,000 data points spanning six continents, with the bulk being granular domestic data. Whether one wants to keep a pulse on change in US GDP or analyze corporate profits compared to the ten year / two year bonds spread, all that information is now available in one place.

“I’m really excited to start using this newly integrated resource to get a better understanding of how different reports work together to influence the markets,” Kinahan said. “It’s great to have so many statistics all in one place where I can quickly find and analyze relevant reports to help my trading decisions.”

Market volatility, volume, and system availability may delay account access and trade executions.

Past performance of a security or strategy does not guarantee future results or success.

Options are not suitable for all investors as the special risks inherent to options trading may expose investors to potentially rapid and substantial losses. Options trading subject to TD Ameritrade review and approval. Please read Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options before investing in options.

Supporting documentation for any claims, comparisons, statistics, or other technical data will be supplied upon request.

The information is not intended to be investment advice or construed as a recommendation or endorsement of any particular investment or investment strategy, and is for illustrative purposes only. Be sure to understand all risks involved with each strategy, including commission costs, before attempting to place any trade. Clients must consider all relevant risk factors, including their own personal financial situations, before trading.

This is not an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction where we are not authorized to do business or where such offer or solicitation would be contrary to the local laws and regulations of that jurisdiction, including, but not limited to persons residing in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, UK, and the countries of the European Union.

This link takes you outside the TD Ameritrade Web site.

Clicking this link takes you outside the TD Ameritrade website to
a web site controlled by third-party, a separate but affiliated company.
TD Ameritrade is not responsible for the content or services this website.
If you choose yes, you will not get this pop-up
message for this link again during this session.

You are now leaving the TD Ameritrade Web site and will enter an
unaffiliated third-party website to access its products and its
posted services. The third-party site is governed by its posted
privacy policy and terms of use, and the third-party is solely
responsible for the content and offerings on its website. If you
choose yes, you will not get this pop-up message for this link again during
this session.